This invention relates to a device for holding screws securely in contact with a driving bit mounted to the shank of a screwdriver during positioning and driving of a screw.
Screw holding and driving devices are well known in the art as shown by U.S. Pat. No. 4,140,161 to Russo; U.S. Pat. No. 772,912 to Allam; U.S. Pat. No. 2,235,235 to Price; U.S. Pat. No. 2,902,071 to Poynte et al; U.S. Pat. No. 3,392,767 to Stillwagon; U.S. Pat. No. 3,707,894 to Stillwagon; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,739,825 to Knox.
The known screw holding and driving devices show various means for holding a screw in position while screwing the screw in to a material. Many of the patents identified above show a sleeve mounted on the shank of the screwdriver which rotates with the shank when the shank is being turned and include various means for holding the screw in the sleeve.
In screw holding and driving devices it is desirable to permit the device to rotate freely on the shank of the screwdriver while the screw is being turned by the screwdriver. This enables the user to hold the sleeve of the device with one hand for guiding the bit of the screwdriver without the necessity of allowing the shank to slip through the fingers of the user when the screwdriver is being used.
It is also desirable to be able to move the sleeve on the shank towards the handle of the screwdriver when the screw holding and driving device is not to be used so as to permit the user to use the screwdriver normally. It is desirable to provide apparatus for holding the sleeve adjacent the handle when the sleeve is not to be used for holding a screw so that the sleeve will not slip towards the bit end of the screwdriver when the screwdriver is being used normally.
It is further desirable to provide apparatus to permit the sleeve to rotate on the shank of the screwdriver when the sleeve is not being used to hold a screw. This again enables a user to hold the sleeve with one hand while the screwdriver is being used normally to guide the bit of the screwdriver in cooperation with the screw head without the necessity of having to allow the sleeve to slip through the fingers of the user.